Humaira Abid, Istri Series: Cat's Cradle, 2025, Pine, pigments on handmade wasli paper, plexiglass, 11 x 7 x 4 ½ in (27.9 x 17.8 x 11.4 cm)
ABIHU001
Humaira Abid, WOMEN, LIFE, FREEDOM - II, 2025, Pine, pigments on handmade wasli paper, museum acrylic, silk embroidered with human hair, 12 ¼ x 9 x 1 in (31.1 x 22.9 x 2.5 cm)
ABIHU002
Humaira Abid, WOMEN, LIFE, FREEDOM - III, 2025, Pine, pigments on handmade wasli paper, museum acrylic, silk embroidered with human hair, 12 x 11 x 1 in (30.5 x 27.9 x 2.5 cm)
ABIHU003
Humaira Abid, Woman With A Breast Pump, 2022, Carved and 24k gold gilded pine, pigments on handmade wasli paper, tru-vu museum acrylic, 18 in diameter (45.7 cm diameter)
ABIHU004
Humaira Abid, Woman in Black, 2022, Pine and mahogany wood, pigments on handmade wasli paper, tru-vu museum acrylic, 62 x 24 x 12 in (157.5 x 61 x 30.5 cm)
ABIHU005
Humaira Abid, Self Portrait - III, 2022, Carved, stained and 24k gold gilded pine, Gouache and pigments on handmade wasli paper, tru-vu , museum acrylic, 13 x 8 ½ x 6 ¼ in (33 x 21.6 x 15.9 cm)
ABIHU006
Humaira Abid, The World is Beautiful, and Dangerous too - II, 2020, Pine, pigments and gouache on handmade wasli paper, plexiglass, 120 x 36 x 36 in (304.8 x 91.4 x 91.4 cm)
ABIHU007
Tazeen Qayyum, Sama’ سمع (to hear), 2024, Archival ink on acid-free paper, 30 x 22 in (76.2 x 55.9 cm)
QAYTA001
Tazeen Qayyum, Baṣar بصر (to see), 2024, Archival ink on acid-free paper, 27 x 20 in (68.6 x 50.8 cm)
QAYTA002
Tazeen Qayyum
Ẓikr ذکر (to remember), 2024
Archival ink on acid-free paper
27h x 20w in
68.58h x 50.80w cm
Framed: 31.25h x 23.38w in
79.38h x 59.37w cm
QAYTA003
Tazeen Qayyum, Tasawwur تصور (imagination/ contemplation), 2024, Archival ink on acid-free paper, 30 x 22 in (76.2 x 55.9 cm)
QAYTA004
Tazeen Qayyum, Da’em دائم (continuous, incessant), 2024, Archival ink on acid-free paper, 22 x 30 in (55.9 x 76.2 cm)
QAYTA005
Tazeen Qayyum, Gawāh گواه (witness), 2024, Archival ink on acid-free paper, 27 x 20 in (68.6 x 50.8 cm)
QAYTA006
Tazeen Qayyum, Khawāb خواب (dream/aspiration), 2024, Archival ink on acid-free paper, 26 x 20 in (66 x 50.8 cm)
QAYTA007
Tazeen Qayyum, Harf حرف_ III (letter), 2023, Archival ink, gouache and tea stain on hot-press archival board, 10 x 8 in (25.4 x 20.3 cm)
QAYTA008
Tazeen Qayyum, Zan, Zendegi, Azadi (Woman, Life, Freedom), 2022, Archival ink on acid-free paper, 57 x 57 in (144.8 x 144.8 cm)
QAYTA009
Tazeen Qayyum, We Do Not Know Who We Are Where We Go, 2014, Archival ink on primed canvas, 54 x 54 in (137.2 x 137.2 cm)
QAYTA010
Tazeen Qayyum, Sukoon (calm/peace), 2018, Archival ink on canvas, 83 x 83 in (210.8 x 210.8 cm)
QAYTA011
Talha Rathore, Inverted Bliss, 2025, Gouache, Tea Stain and Archival pen and Collage on Wasli paper, Quadriptych, 22 ½ x 16 ½ in each (57.2 x 41.9 cm each)
RATTA031
Talha Rathore, Contrary Delectations, 2022, Gouache, Tea Stain and Archival pen on Wasli (Triptych), 23 x 17 in each (58.4 x 43.2 cm each)
RATTA032
Talha Rathore, Exuberance I, 2022, Gouache, tea stain and archival pen on wasli paper, 22 ⅛ x 16 in (56.2 x 40.6 cm)
RATTA033
Talha Rathore, Exuberance III, 2022, Gouache, tea stain and archival pen on wasli paper, 22 ⅛ x 16 in (56.2 x 40.6 cm)
RATTA034
Talha Rathore, Exuberance IV, 2022, Gouache, tea stain and archival pen on wasli paper, 22 ⅛ x 16 in (56.2 x 40.6 cm)
RATTA035
Talha Rathore, Circumscribed Adaptations III, 2022, Gouache, tea stain and archival pen on wasli paper, 23 ¼ x 17 ⅛ in (59 x 43.5 cm)
RATTA036
Talha Rathore, Solace I, 2022, Gouache, tea stain and archival pen on wasli paper, 11 ½ x 9 ¼ in (29.2 x 23.5 cm)
RATTA037
Talha Rathore, A New Earth, 2008, Gouache on wasli, 14 x 11 ¼ in (35.6 x 28.6 cm)
RATTA038
Talha Rathore, Still Evolving, 2008, Gouache on wasli, 11 ¼ x 14 in (35.6 x 28.6 cm)
RATTA039
Talha Rathore, Remember Me II, 2008, Gouache on wasli, 14 x 11 ¼ in (35.6 x 28.6 cm)
RATTA040
Talha Rathore, Purpose of Life, 2008, Gouache on wasli paper, 14 x 11 ¼ in (35.6 x 28.6 cm)
RATTA041
Talha Rathore, Emancipation, 1993, Gouache on wasli, 17 x 10 ½ in (43.2 x 26.7 cm)
RATTA042
Hasnat Mehmood, Untitled (1), 2025, Pen and ink on Arches paper, 14 ½ x 11 in (36.8 x 27.9 cm)
MEHHA001
Hasnat Mehmood, Untitled (4), 2025, Pen and ink on Arches paper, 14 ½ x 11 in (36.8 x 27.9 cm)
MEHHA003
Hasnat Mehmood, Untitled (3), 2025, Graphite, pen and ink on Arches paper, 14 ½ x 11 in (36.8 x 27.9 cm)
MEHHA002
Hasnat Mehmood, Untitled (5), 2025, Graphite, pen and ink on Arches paper, 14 ½ x 11 in (36.8 x 27.9 cm)
MEHHA004
Hasnat Mehmood, Untitled (6), 2025, Pen and ink on Arches paper, 14 ½ x 11 in (36.8 x 27.9 cm)
MEHHA005
Hasnat Mehmood, Double Think (1), 2021, Gouache on wasli paper, 3 in diameter each (7.6 cm diameter each)
MEHHA006
Hasnat Mehmood, Double Think (2), 2021, Gouache and gold on wasli paper, 3 in diameter each (7.6 cm diameter each)
MEHHA008
Hasnat Mehmood
Double Think (3), 2021, Gouache on wasli paper, 3 in diameter each (7.6 cm diameter each)
MEHHA010
Hasnat Mehmood, Aurangzeb Alamghir, 2021, Gouache on wasli paper, 3 in diameter (7.6 cm diameter)
MEHHA014
Hasnat Mehmood, Young Prince, 2021, Gouache on wasli paper, 2 in diameter (5 cm diameter)
MEHHA012
Hasnat Mehmood, Self Portrait, 2021, Gouache and gold on wasli paper, diptych, 3 in diameter each (7.6 cm diameter each)
MEHHA013
Aicon Art is pleased to present Past Comes to Present, a group exhibition featuring artworks by Humaira Abid, Hasnat Mehmood, Tazeen Qayyum, and Talha Rathore. Bringing together four contemporary Pakistani artists whose practices emerge from the rigorous discipline of miniature painting, the exhibition considers how an inherited visual language can be transformed across geographies, mediums, and generations. Now living and working across the North American diaspora, these artists extend the precision, intimacy, and formal refinement of the miniature into distinct contemporary vocabularies. On the occasion of this exhibition, Salima Hashmi offers the following text:
Visual surprises are rare today amid the rampant divergences in art practices, yet the highlighting of a fading historical process can unveil a fascinating reinvention genre.
The art practices of Humaira Abid, Hasnat Mehmood, Tazeen Qayyum and Talha Rathore, all originate in Lahore from the lineage of the miniature painting ustaads—Haji Sharif of the court of Patiala, Sheikh Shuja Ullah of the court of Alwar, and Bashir Ahmad of Lahore. Under their tutelage at the National College of Arts (NCA), these artists were led through the rigour of the miniature painting process: the preparation of surfaces, the making of brushes, grinding of pigments, the delicate techniques of drawing and the meticulous layering of colour. Each artist spent weeks if not months perfecting the quality of line and colour, carefully mastering every stroke of the brush.
All four artists in this exhibition are now living in the North American diaspora and their relocation has created insurgencies in the wake of their individual odysseys, encounters and exposures. These have culminated in distinct and individual vocabularies as they blossomed in directions undreamt of by their illustrious mentors. But even as they invent new terms of engagement pulsating with ideas and startling innovations, the tenacity of tradition lingers, finding a voice in the enticement of the beauty of their mark making.
Humaira Abid’s fearless merging of hand carved wood and painted image creates affecting conversations around a woman’s existential challenges. She probes the demands of motherhood, the underpinnings of patriarchy, and the potential for resistance.
Hasnat Mehmood references both antiquity and nature in his work. Explorations of the human form are framed by the brooding emblematic image of a crow. The juxtapositions are layered and enigmatic.
Tazeen Qayyum’s meditative works are both poetic and uplifting. Linking a trance-like dedication to the written word, she immerses herself in the act of repetitive mark making. The expertise and patience evident in these renderings are compelling and elegant.
Talha Rathore’s gentle odes to symbolic forms evoke nostalgia stemming from memories of illustrated manuscripts. Not replicas, but lyrical interpretive configurations which were once resident in miniature painting. Other works in her oeuvre trace the unfolding of peculiar embryonic creatures possibly straining towards maturity. Of the four artists, Talha Rathore’s paintings retain the romance of history and pursuit of beauty.
Humaira Abid, Hasnat Mehmood, Tazeen Qayyum and Talha Rathore provide convincing moments of self-reflection and genuine thoughtfulness. The works collectively speak of the artists’ potential to answer questions of identity and their role in the search for meaning and elusive beauty in turbulent times.
- Salima Hashmi is an internationally acclaimed artist, curator, contemporary art historian and activist. She taught at the NCA, Lahore, for thirty years.
